Louvered ventilating devices and method for producing same



Feb. 20, 1962 E. SLATKOVSKI LOUVERED VENTILATING DEVICES AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SAME Filed July 16, 1959 I INVENTOR. EM/l. 5LA TKOVSK/ ATTORNEY States This invention relates generally to louvered ventilating devices and more particularly to an improved side strip from which said louvered ventilating devices may be constructed and to such a device constructed therefrom.

In the building trades, many louvered ventilating devices are required for various purposes such as furnace air intake supply, confined space ventilation and many other purposes known to those engaged in such building occupations.

Louvered ventilating devices are made of various materials and are usually produced in a particular building or structure to the sizes required and to fit the particular situation; therefore, many of such louvered ventilating devices are custom made for individual buildingsfin other cases, quantities of such louvers are made to pref determined sizes for certainpre-determined uses.

In any circumstance, the louvered ventilating devices re made of a wide variety of materials including wood, plastic and various metals.

Many louvered ventilating devices are made of metal materials for reasons which are obvious because of the inherent advantages of this material in certain applications. Louvered ventilating devices made of metal are generally riveted, spot welded or fastened in a similar manner. Certain metals, because of their nature, parcularly the lighter and softer materials such as aluminum, are not always easy to fasten in this manner.

The conventional methods of fastening the louvers into such louvered ventilating devices are at best fairly slow and cumbersome and frequently result in warping.

The metal from which louvered ventilating devices are made is generally supplied in flat strip form in large coils usually about 500 feet in length and the material is taken from the coils, cut to length, formed on metal brakes and fastened together.

I have devised a metal strip with slots punched in it which is used to for forming the side rails of louvered ventilating devices, the said slots being so constructed that when formed to make side rails, they provide a means of interlocking the louver vanes and avoid the necessity of spot welding, riveting or other means of fastening the vanes in place. I have also, of course, devised a completed louvered ventilating device utilizing such strips.

Thus, it is an important object of my invention to provide a louvered ventilating device of the class described in which the vanes are held in place without welding, riveting or the like. I

It is a further object of my invention to provide a metal side strip material to be used in constructing such a louvered device.

it is a further object of my invention to provide a device and a strip for making the same as above mentioned which is adaptable to be easily formed in any size with a minimum of equipment.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of my invention will be clear to those skilled in the art by reference to the following specification and the en closed drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective of a preferred embodiment of a louvered ventilating device of my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective of a section of flat material used to produce the side strip in said embodiment of my invention;

particularly shaped cut to any length am i 3,621,778 Patented Feb. 20, 1952- FIGURE 3 shows said strip shown in FIGURE 2 bentfor one side of said louvered ventilating device;

FIGURE 4 shows said strip in FIGURE 2 bent to form the other side of said ventilating strip;

FIGURE 5 is a section through 55 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 6 is a section through 6--6 of FIGURE 1.

The completed louvered ventilating device consists of two side rails 21 and 30 respectively, two ends 49 and 530 respectively and a series of vanes as. Each of the side rails 20 and 30 is formed from side rails strip material 10.

Side rail strip material is seen to consist of a flat ribbon of suitable metal or the like such as galvanized sheet iron, aluminum or other suitable material. The strip has a series of right angle shaped slots 11 as shown at spaced intervals along one edge of the strip Ill running the length of the strip 19. The strip 16 has a second series of right angle shaped slots running the length of the said strip, each of slots 12 being at a spaced interval between one of the slotsll and the remaining edge of said strip. Each of said slots 11 and 12 has a first leg running parallel to the edges or" said strip and an interconnectingleg running at right angles to said first leg. Each-of the said slots 11 has its first leg parallel to the edge ofstrip 10 running relatively upward as shown on the attached drawing FIGURE 2 from said point of connection with said interconnecting leg and connected at the end of said interconnecting leg away from the edge of said strip. Each slot 12, on the other hand, is seen to have its first leg which runs parallel to the edge of strip 10 at a spaced distance from both edges of said strip and its inter-connecting leg relatively at the opposite end of its first leg relative to the posi tion of the inter-connecting leg of slot 11.

FIGURES 3 and 4 show the method of folding or bending the strip 10 to produce side rail material. The dotted lines on FIGURE 2 illustrate the points of bending to produce side rail material 30 as shown in FIGURE 3. FIGURE 4 shows the result to produce side rail material 26 by reversing the bending which produced the result shown in FIGURE 3.

Thus, it is seen that with one strip of material punched with a series of slots 11 and 12, the two side rails for a louvered ventilating device may be easily formed with five simple straight bending operations.

Each of the vanes 66 is a flat strip of metal or the like with its edges bent as shown in cross section FIGURE The edges are bent so that each has an angular relation with the main portion of the vane 60 and one edge is bent in exactly the opposite direction and parallel to the other edge.

The edges of vane 60 at the ends slip into the slots 11 and 12 as shown best in FIGURE 5.

The top 40 consists of a flat strip bent as shown in FIGURE 5 having a rolled top edge 41, flange 42, upper side 43, vane portion 44, and connecting edge 45. The connecting edge 45 interconnects in slots 12 on side rails 20 and 30 in the same manner as vanes 60.

The bottom 50 consists of a flat strip bent as shown in cross section in FIGURE 5. Bottom 50 has a rolled edge 51, flange 52, vane 53 and connecting edge 54. The connecting edge 54 interconnects with slot 11 in thle same manner as vanes 6E9 interconnect with slots 1 To produce louvered ventilating devices of any size in accordance with my invention as herein disclosed, a flat strip of metal is bent into top portion 40 as indicated and it is then cut on an angle along its top flange edges as shown by lines 71 and 72 on FIGURE. 1. This cut is made for the width of the flange only. The balance of the cut commencing with lines 71 and 72 becomes straight across the upper edge portion 43 as shown by dotted line 75. This straight out then continues down through vane portion 44 so that the width of the vane portion and edge portion as cut and as indicated by dotted line 75 is sufiicient so that the vane'portion 44 fits properly against the side edges 30 and 20 and so that the edge 45 inter-locks in slot 12 properly.

A similar out along lines 76 and 77 for bottom edge 50 accomplishes a similar result for the bottom edge. Dotted line 73 and its solid continuance as shown in FIGURE 1 outlines the straight portion of cut on bottom 50 so that the vane portion 53 fits properly and edge 54 inter-locks in slot 11.

The front or flange portion of sides 20 and 30 are also cut as shown along lines 71, 72, '76 and 77 respectively so that they will fit with the top and bottom portions in the proper manner to make a neat joint around the edges. The top and bottom edges as cut to any proper desired length are, of course, in a straight line such as is indicated by line 75 at the top and dotted line 79 at the bottom, it being understood the same construction will apply to each side of the structure. The joints along 71, 72, 76 and 77 may be spot welded or fastened in any other customary manner.

It will thus be seen that only four spot welds, which will not warp this item, will hold the entire ventilating device together, the vanes and all other parts being interconnected by the slots 11 and 12.

While the embodiment of my invention shown and disclosed is fully capable of performing. the objects and achievingthe advantages desired by this invention, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that many modifications can be made without departing from the inventive concepts disclosed and it is not my intention to be limited by the specific embodiment herein shown and described.

I claim:

A louvered ventilating device of the character described comprising: a top portion consisting of a strip of rigid material formed in an angular shape to provide a front face and a rearwardly extending brace leg adaptable to fasten to and engage with the two sides hereinafter described; a bottom comprising a strip of rigid material bent so as to provide a front face with a rearwardly extending angularly disposed portion suitable to engage with and fasten to the sides hereinafter described; two sides, each of said sides formed from a strip of rigid material which has had a first series of L shaped slots punched at one edge and a second series of L shaped slots inverted relative to the first series of L shaped slots, punched intermediate said edge and the other edge of said strip, each of said sides being bent so as to form a central portion, a double thickness T shaped flange at right angles to said central portion and at right angles thereto so that said flange and leg are parallel to each other and each perpendicular to said central portion, said flange is formed with one series of the heretofore described L shaped slots located on one side of the central portion of said side and on the portion of the double thickness facing said leg, and the said leg is formed with the second series of said L shaped slots located in the portion of the double thickness of said leg facing and opposed to the said L shaped slots in said flange; said sides and said top and bottom are fastened together at their shoulders to form a rectangular structure; and a series of vanes each com prising a main vane portion having its upper and lower edges each bent at an angular relation to the main portion thereof, said upper and lower edges extending in opposite directions from each other but parallel to each other, so that the ends of each vane at the edges thereof are engaged in the said slots formed in the said sides of the device.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 421,165 DAvos et al. Feb. 11, 1890 1,118,365 Loehler Nov. 24, 1914 2,097,927 Klemp Nov. 2, 1937 2,309,717 Siebenlist Feb. 2, 1943 2,580,282 colley Dec. 25, 1951 2,752,844 Simblest July 3, 1956 

